The New Development Bank (NDB) may begin lending as early as next April, according to NDB President Kundapur Vaman Kamath.

The forum was attended by prominent representatives from the banking sector and investment companies in the BRICS and SCO countries; top officials representing the Russian federal and regional authorities.

President of the China Development Bank Zheng Zhijie announced that by the end of the first quarter of 2015, loans to BRICS countries had reached $58.9 billion, with loans to members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation totaling $41.5 billion.

Mr Zhijie noted that when it comes to infrastructure development, the bank "supports mainly projects for marine port and road infrastructure, power stations, telecommunications and some other areas."

According to the CDB President, the bank has supported initiatives to build oil pipelines between Russia and China and between Kazakhstan and China, along with some others. "We are trying to enter new investment areas, open new areas for cooperation. Our ambition is to achieve the most productive cooperation with the world's leading investment banks and institutions," Zheng Zhijie said.

In his address, President and Chairman of VTB Bank Management Board Andrei Kostin discussed global political risks to financial stability. "In the past year and a half, political risks have emerged. They are directly related to the global financial system because the United States is actively using the established dollar system to promote its geopolitical interests," he said.

He also criticised US policies that have been hindering progress on certain issues for several years now, including IMF quotas and a fairer balance of power between the developed and the developing countries.